Monday Bolts: 11.25.19 - Daily Thunder

ICYMI: Brandon Rahbar recaps another close lose to a contending team … Aidan Elrod reviews Darius Bazley’s performance to date.

Rajon Rondo was fined $35,000 for this cheap shot on Dennis Schroder (along with some other not nice things Rondo did in earning an ejection stemming from this play):

Replay Review (Game Crew): if a potential hostile act was committed by Rondo in Q4 of #LALatOKC. Ruling: Flagrant foul penalty 2 assessed to Rondo for unnecessary and excessive contact made with Schroder, Rondo ejected. pic.twitter.com/X5Tn56LT7B
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 23, 2019

Rondo’s reaction to the fine? No regrets, per Dave McMenamin (ESPN). “‘The guy I got into it with, he’s a big fan of mine,’ Rondo said of Schroder. ‘A teammate of his, my brother, Josh Smith, [told me] he used to watch a lot of my films back in the day, I was his favorite player growing up. That’s all I said to him for the most part.'”

Luguentz Dort continues to blow up the G-League:

it's becoming an every night thing ? #2WayPlayer @Luguentz Dort

32 PTS | 4 REB | 3 AST | 10-14 FGM@SunDevilHoops ↗️ @okcblue ↔️ @okcthunder pic.twitter.com/0dThsAfBCH
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 24, 2019

Hamidou Diallo, who suffered an injury ~~getting fouled by LeBron James~~ Friday night, will be out tonight:

Hamidou Diallo has a hyperextension sprain in his right elbow and will be reevaluted in the upcoming days, per the Thunder. Diallo is out for Monday at Golden State.
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) November 24, 2019

So, OKC is second to the San Antonio Spurs in consecutive winning seasons, but I don’t think that’s the intent of this tweet:

Active number of consecutive winning seasons:

0: NYK, CLE, CHI, ATL, WAS, MIA, CHA, DET, PHX, DAL, NOP, MEM, MIN, SAC, LAL
1: ORL, BRK
2: POR, DEN, PHI
3: MIL
4: UTA, HOU, IND, BOS
5:
6: TOR
7: GSW
8:
9: LAC
10: OKC
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22: SA Spurs
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) November 23, 2019

Practice Report leading up to tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors, the ~~seventeenth~~ third time the Thunder have played the Warriors this season:

Working on defensive rotations.

? // today's practice report pic.twitter.com/0WPNFDQ26a
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 24, 2019

Enes Kanter (a former Thunder player) is earning the support of national politicians in his campaign against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “‘I’m going to have Enes’s back,’ [Senator Edward] Markey [D-Mass] said in an interview. “I’m going to be standing with him to protect his rights.'”

Erik Horne (The Athletic) takes a trip down memory lane, reviewing the last decade of Thunder basketball. “The Thunder were the Warriors before the Warriors. Well, except for the titles. Hear me out: Young, homegrown talent takes the league by storm and makes itself a perennial contender for the NBA title. It’s a simple formula that rarely is as successful as Oklahoma City and Golden State made it seem in the 2010s. But the Thunder’s rise was even more overnight, from 23-59 in 2008-09 to 50-32 the next season, never dropping below 45 wins for the next decade.”

Zach Harper (The Athletic) gave his All-2010s team, and four players who have worn Thunder were named on either first or second team. Russell Westbrook was selected for the second team. “[Westbrook is] walking out of this decade fourth in points, 15th in rebounds, first in assists, and second in steals. He won an MVP and eight All-NBA team selections. Did he game the system? Sure. Did I game the system to include him? Absolutely.”

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